By Ralph Wilcox, writer/director of The Lena Baker Story
(from the 2008 Cannes Film Festival)
As a veteran of more than 30 years in the entertainment industry, both as a successful working actor with more than 100 credits and a producer of documentaries in Africa, I knew that someday I would direct a feature film. That was never a question. The question was what film would serve as my directorial debut and, more importantly, what film would have such a significant and powerful message that I would feel compelled to share it with a worldwide audience. Enter The Lena Baker Story, a cradle-to-grave story from 1910 to 1945 that recounts the true events that led up to the electrocution of the first and only woman in Georgia's history to be condemned to the electric chair. Lena Baker, a poor African-American maid, was electrocuted in 1945 for defending herself against an abusive employer and pardoned posthumously in 2005. But the story is about far more than that. It is a contemporary and universal story that has existed in every country in the world in one way or another. Lena Baker had no voices to speak for her, but through this story, maybe others who are struggling with such issues can begin telling their stories so a genuine healing process can begin. If there was one thing that led me to decide that Lena Baker's time had come, it was her spiritual convictions in the midst of her journey through a dark tunnel of existence. On the surface, The Lena Baker Story seems to be a simple story of an interracial affair in the Jim Crow segregated South that ended tragically. The question becomes, "Did it end out of hatred, social pressure, ignorance, fear, neglect or sexual slavery?"
Is it Romeo and Juliet? Is it Othello? These questions, and the dialogue that will ensue, will have to be answered by the audience. But, as great literary works have continued to inspire us to engage in difficult dialogue, such is my hope and prayer for The Lena Baker Story. No greater tragedy can befall a relationship or a society than to live in monologue rather than dialogue. Philosophically speaking, there is no question that every human being has a story to tell, whether it be in dramatic narrative or comedic perspective; whether through music, dance, fine arts or literature. What drives and motivates storytellers (artists) is very personal. Some of us are drawn by the opportunity to reap financial rewards, by ego and/or by a sense of duty. As a soldier feels it is his duty to protect his country, an artist feels it is his duty to know the country. I personally am drawn by a sense of duty that is motivated by my spiritual beliefs. I personally believe that we are put on this planet to be servants one to another. Everybody can be great because everybody can serve. The central struggle of our humanity revolves around life and death - a quality of life and dignity in death. Whereas most people may want to see Lena Baker's story as a tragic tale, the reality is that not telling the story is where lies the tragedy. It is hard to tell tragic stories based on what one's spiritual convictions are or are not, but death is not a period that ends this great sentence of life. Death is a comma that will punctuate it to a loftier significance based on the events in our lives and how we handle them. |
